Fantasy Football Week 8 Free Agent Pickups
Week 8 Rentals: The following players will be for owners in need of one week replacements.
Andy Dalton 40% Owned: Take caution. Dalton has been horrible this season. With just nine touchdown passes in six games, Dalton is tough to trust against anybody. Dalton is not a great quarterback; heck he barely scratches the surface of an average quarterback. However, he gets a juicy home matchup against a horrendous Colts secondary.
A defensive unit that has been shredded by Blake Bortles, DeShone Kizer, and Brian Hoyer. The Colts rank 27th against the pass and lost Malik Hooker for the season (ACL). Dalton should feast in this game; with his eyes closed.
Jalen Richard 14% Owned: With Marshawn Lynch suspended for week 8, it will be the tandem of Jalen Richard, and DeAndre Washington getting carries for Oakland on Sunday. However, it’s difficult to decipher who will get the majority of the carries. Richard is the more talented back, with big play ability. He’s played a significant role for the Raiders this season averaging 44 YPG. The Bills have been great against the run so temper your expectations. Richard brings the ability to break one off. It’s a risky play, but the upside is intriguing.
Bennie Fowler 10%: This is all contingent on Emmanuel Sanders not playing on Monday. If Sanders is unable to suit up against the Chiefs, expect a big game out of Bennie Fowler. Fowler started in place of Sanders in week 7 and caught five passes for 45 yards. Let’s not forget the Broncos were blanked in the game. The Chiefs rank 32nd against the pass, and their top corner, Marcus Peters will be following Demaryius Thomas all night. Fowler is a safe flex play, especially in PPR.
Jack Doyle 35% Owned: Doyle continues to get an abundance of targets from Jacoby Brissett. It should continue Sunday against the Bengals. Despite a difficult matchup, Doyle is still a TE1 this week. Doyle has seen 18 targets in the last two weeks and should see a healthy number yet again in week 8. With a nonexistent run game, the Colts are going to have throw the ball a ton. Doyle may be the biggest beneficiary of it.
Long-Term Solutions:
Sterling Shepard 61% Owned- For some bizarre reason, Sheppard is only 61% owned in ESPN leagues. Shepard is the last man standing in the Giants’ receiving corps. Outside of impressive rookie Evan Engram, he is the only competent pass catcher for the Eli Manning. Shepard had an impressive rookie year for the Big Blue and has a great opportunity to put up monster numbers with Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall out for the season. With a healthy schedule coming up after the bye, Shepard will be a great fill-in for bye weeks. He could flirt with WR2 numbers for fantasy owners going down the stretch.
Josh Doctson 16% Owned– On Monday Night, Doctson started and played a career-high 54-of-64 (84.4%) snaps against the Philadelphia Eagles. Even though he caught just three passes (five targets), he has appeared to pass colossal bust Terrelle Pryor on the depth chart. Pryor played just 30 snaps on Monday. With Pryor and Jamison Crowder playing utterly embarrassing it’s time to see what the talented 24-year-old can give Washington.
“We drafted Josh to be the No. 1 guy,” Jay Gruden said. “He just has had some injuries. Now that he’s healthy, we want to see what he can do.”
The sky is the limit for the 6’2″ first-round pick out of TCU in a pass-happy offense. Doctson may not make an immediate impact but brings WR2 upside going down the stretch. He is a must-own in all formats. He is a dart throw in week eight.
Alfred Morris 33% Owned & Darren McFadden 38% Owned– Another week comes and goes and the juncture of Ezekiel Elliott suspension is still up in the air. Many believe he will serve his suspension after week eights match up. If Elliott is indeed suspended, it will be Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden in a timeshare for Dallas. Yes, McFadden has been a healthy scratch in all seven games this season, but expect him to lead Dallas in carries if Elliot is suspended. McFadden has a similar skillset to Elliot which should allow him to get early down and goal-line carries. Both players are must-adds. If you can only roster one, McFadden is preferred.
Tyler Kroft 24% Owned– Tyler Kroft is an interesting name to keep an eye on. Kroft has done a nice job filling in for injured Tyler Eifert the last four weeks. Andy Dalton loves throwing to his tight ends, especially in the red zone. In Eifert’s last 23 games he scored 18 touchdowns. Kroft, like Eifert, is 6’6 260 pounds, a perfect formula for the Red Zone. In Kroft’s four games this season he has seen at least four targets and scored three touchdowns. The Bengals are desperate for another playmaker outside of A.J. Green. It’s not blasphemous to think Kroft could be a top ten TE.